Tag: Ese Oruru

Mr. Charles Oruru, the father of Ese Oruru, the then 13-year-old girl abducted and taken to Kano where she was allegedly raped, forcibly Islamised and married off without her parents’ consent, is lamenting that the family has been abandoned.

He also said that all the promises made by the governments of Bayelsa and Delta states as well as some non-governmental organisations with regard to Ese’s scholarship had not been fulfilled.

The abduction of Ese, the youngest child of Charles Oruru and Rose Oruru, occurred on 12 August, 2015 at her mother’s shop in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

Ese, who was 13 years old at the time, was abducted by a man named Yunusa Dahiru (alias Yellow) and taken to Kano, where she was allegedly raped, forcibly converted into Islam and married off without her parents’ consent.

The conversion and marriage allegedly took place in the palace of the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

On February 29, 2016, Ese was reportedly rescued by the Kano State Police and placed in the custody of the government. She was later revealed to be five months’ pregnant with her abductor’s child after being released.

Charles told The PUNCH in an interview on Thursday that since all the promises did not come to fruition, he had relocated Ese, her child and other family members to their hometown in Ughelli, Delta State.

He recalled that three months after Ese was delivered of her baby, some persons allegedly attempted to ‘steal’ the baby at the Police Officers’ Mess in Yenagoa where Ese and the baby were domiciled then.

Charles stated, “A lot of things have happened. As Ese was delivered of her baby, three months after, some people attempted to steal the baby but God helped us, they did not succeed.

“After that incident, I had to fight to take Ese and the baby from there. So, we have taken them to Ughelli in Delta State. I am the only one living in Yenagoa. As they left, I started making efforts to get the scholarship the Bayelsa State Government promised Ese after giving birth.

“Since she gave birth, the scholarship promised Ese has not materialised in spite of all our efforts. The government asked one official to look for a house for us. We were given a two-bedroomed flat at Okaka in Yenagoa. But because of some issues, we have left the apartment; even FIDA and the NGOs helping us appear to have backed out.”

Charles noted that when they got to their home in Delta, he personally wrote letters to the Governor of Delta State for scholarship but he replied that the government did not have provision for such.

He also lamented that the court proceedings had been stalled since August 2017 when the trial Judge, Justice H.A. Nganjiwa, was transferred to Abuja.

He explained, “Even the court matter is another funny aspect. We went to court last in August 2017 before they took the trial judge to Abuja and up till now, the judge has not come back. Because of the absence of the judge, the matter has been stalled.

“When I tried to find out what was amiss, somebody in the court told me that the trial might commence in 2018 but we do not know when that will be.”

As for Yunusa, Charles said the suspect had been freed from Okaka Prison, Yenagoa and flown to his hometown in Kano State.

On whether Yunusa had been taking care of Ese’s baby, he retorted, “God forbid! The baby is in our possession. We have been taking care of the baby. He has not called anybody. Anyway, it is expected because the child is not his.

“The child belongs to me. He did not pay any bride price to anybody. We do not marry off our daughters like that in Urhobo land. If you want to marry, you must seek the consent of the parents to give you a wife.”

He added that Ese was well and kicking, stressing that she is now an SSS2 student in a school in Ughelli.

He said that it was the family that was responsible for the school fees of Ese contrary to speculation that the government was footing her education bill.

He added, “ We pay for her school fees. Contrary to speculation, the government of Delta State is not responsible for Ese’s fees. We sought their help but they did not offer any. The school my wife took her to before, we were not able to pay before one Good Samaritan assisted us in paying for two terms.

“Anyway, by the grace of God, Ese’s schooling is going on well. Someone is assisting us to offset the school fees. Since September, the baby has been in our possession. I won’t like to give my grandchild to anybody.”

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Some of the judges, accused of corruption but cleared by the National Judicial Council (NJC), on Wednesday resumed duty at their various duty posts in line with the NJC directive.

The recalled judges were: Justice Inyang Okoro of the Supreme Court, Justice Uwani John of the Court of Appeal, Justice Hydiazira Nganjiwa, Justice Musa Kurya and Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court.

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria, who visited the Yenagoa Federal High Court complex, reports that Justice Nganjiwa had resumed duty.

The absence of the judge stalled several pending cases, including the case of Ese Oruru, since Dec. 8 2016.

When NAN visited the court, court officials were assigning dates to lawyers whose cases are pending before the judge.

In a related development, Justice Musa Kurya, of the Jos Division of the Federal High Court, did not resume duty on Wednesday.

A NAN correspondent who visited the court complex, was told by a reliable source that Kurya travelled to Lagos.

“We have been waiting for him, we were told that he travelled, many cases are pending and we hope he will come soon.”

Contacted, Mr A. M. Dan-Ige, the court’s Station Registrar, confirmed Kurya’s absence, but expressed optimism that he would be in court “tomorrow or next.

“The suspension has been lifted. So, we expect him any moment from now,” he said.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja, who was discharged and acquitted of corruption charges also resumed and handled cases.

When Ademola entered his courtroom, the first case that his registrar called was a matter between one Mr Undie Pius and the Peoples Democratic Party.

The case was, however, struck out since it has been overtaken by events.

The controversy over the purported marriage of Habiba Ishiaku to Jemilu Lawal has assumed a different dimension, as the Katsina State Governor and the state’s Attorney-General have expressed support for the illegal union, citing a letter purportedly written by the minor as reasons.

Fifteen-year-old Christian girl, Miss Habiba Ishiaku, was allegedly abducted by one Jamilu Lawal Wawar Kaza, a Muslim, of Kankara Local Government Area of the state on August 16, 2016, for the purpose of conversion to Islam and marriage.

Habiba’s father, Ishiaku Tanko, and three others on Wednesday approached a Katsina High Court, requesting the enforcement of their fundamental rights as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution and international charters.

However, shortly after the court commenced sitting, the presiding judge, Justice Baraka Iliyasu Wali, tendered a signed handwritten letter and another unsigned type-written one allegedly written by Habiba dissociating herself from the application.

Following the arguments of both counsels, Justice Baraka briefly adjourned ruling till later in the day.

She said she wanted to ascertain whether or not the letter was permissible in her court.

The four applicants in the matter, apart from Habiba’s father, are Habiba herself, registered trustees of Stefanos Foundation and registered trustees of Evangelical Church Winning All.

The six defendants include Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari, the state Attorney General, the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumin Kabir Usman, the state Commissioner of Police and Jemilu Lawal (Habiba’s husband).

The applicants had approached the court through their counsel, Yakubu Saleh Bawa of Bawa, Bawa Associates, seeking the enforcement of their fundamental human rights.

Citing relevant portions of the 1999 Constitution as amended, and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, as well as the Child’s Right Act 2003, the applicants maintained the need to enforce their Fundamental Human Rights.

Drama however started when Justice Baraka brought out the two letters and asked Bawa to comment on them. She equally asked for the comments of the defence counsel.

Bawa categorically asked the court to discountenance the letters, maintaining that they were not brought to the court through an affidavit.

One of the letters was written in Hausa, and he said it should not be recognised by the court.

He declared, “This is a court of prime records. In the eye of the law, the document has not been brought by way of affidavit.

“Assuming without conceding that there is even a document written by the second applicant (Habiba), it cannot defeat this action. This is because the first applicant (Habiba’s father), by exhibit A, had placed before this court a birth certificate to substantiate his claim that Habiba is a minor.

“We urge you to proceed with the substantive matter, which is the fundamental human rights issue.”

Counsel for the state, Abubakar Umar (a senior state counsel) who also represented Governor Masari and the state’s Attorney General, maintained that the court should recognise Habiba’s alleged letter.

He declared, “I have seen the letter. The subject matter is with regard to the second applicant (Habiba) regarding the suit before your lordship.

“In summary, the second applicant is dissociating herself from the case before this court, implying that the suit is not filed on her behalf.”

Counsel for Jemilu (Habiba’s husband), ABK Nasir, in adddition to aligning with Umar’s submission, added that Habiba is Jemilu’s wife and can write the letter under Order 13, Rule 1 of Fundamental Human Rights.

Counsel for other defendants equally aligned with Umar’s submission and, in addition, urged the court to summon Habiba to come and clarify her stand, in addition to the two letters said to have been written by her.

After a brief adjournment, Justice Baraka summoned Habiba to appear in court on January 25, 2017.

She declared, “The second applicant (Habiba) should appear in court on 25th of this month to confirm whether she is the genuine author of the letters.

“I hereby adjourn this court till that date.”

Habiba’s father, Mallam Ishiaku Tanko, in a brief interview with journalists said, “All I want is my daughter. I want her back to continue her education.

“Iam fully in support of this court action to enforce our fundamental rights.”

The PUNCH observed that only Jemilu Lawal was present in court, while other defendants were absent although they were represented by their various counsels.

Eight months after she was rescued and reunited with her loved ones, the family of 14-year-old Ese Oruru have finalised plans to return the teenager back to school.

The teenager is expected to resume her education as a first-year Senior Secondary School pupil in Delta State.

Ese was a 13-year-old JSS3 pupil of Central Epie Secondary School, Opolo, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, when she was allegedly abducted by Yunusa Dahiru, aka Yellow, on August 12, 2015, from her mother’s food stall in Opolo area of Bayelsa State and taken to Kano.

Her parents had said their teenage daughter had been forced to convert to Islam, and forced into child marriage without their consent.

The parents of the teenager told SUNDAY PUNCH they were happy that their daughter was finally going back to school, and that she was eager to move on with her life and education.

“She was excited when we informed her about it. She said she was so happy that she can now finally continue her education,” her mother, Rose Oruru, told our correspondent.

Since her release from her alleged abductor in early March, the teenager, who hails from Delta State, had been in protective custody of the Bayelsa State Police command.

She was accommodated at the Officers Mess in Yenagoa, the state capital, until recently, when the parents secured the approval of the command to move her to another secure location.

Before her relocation from the Officers Mess, the teenager had reportedly told her parents and siblings a few months ago that she had felt trapped there despite being in protective custody of the police because she had not been able to resume schooling like her mates.

SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that Ese, who is now a mother of a five-month-old baby girl, has been coping well with life as a teenage mother with the help of her family. In May, the teenager gave birth to a baby girl at the Government Hospital, Yenagoa.

The Executive Director, Kindling Hope Across Nations Initiative, Mr. Kizito Andah, said Ese’s further education should be a priority for both the Bayelsa and Delta state governments, as well as the Federal Government.

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The parents of Ese Oruru, the 14-year-old minor, who was allegedly abducted in Bayelsa State in August 2015 and taken to Kano where she was forced into a marriage and converted into Islam have lamented that they have been abandoned.

Her mother, Rose, said apart from the initial assistance from the Bayelsa State Government when she (Ese) arrived from Kano earlier in the year, the victim had been abandoned.

She said Ese’s continued survival and that of her four-month-old baby was being threatened due to the family’s inability to adequately cater for their needs.

She lamented that it was ironical that while the accused was enjoying freedom on bail, the victim was being denied freedom under the guise of protection.

She insisted that the conditions that Ese and her baby were kept were not conducive for the welfare of the mother and the baby.

Rose said her daughter was not properly taken care of as someone nursing a baby with regard to nutrition and psychological care in a homely environment.

She stated, “People from Bayelsa have been assisting us and even the police officers. We want to leave there for our house because the place (Police Officers Mess) is not a good place to stay and bring up a newborn baby.

“We are just abandoned in a room that we are not even allowed to go out. We stay with our trash bin which is smelling. We and the new born baby are compelled to breathe the offensive smell.

“So the world should note that we are being marginalised for no reason, as the boy, Yunusa, is still owing me some money after taking my daughter to Kano to impregnate her for me.”

Ese’s father, Mr. Charles Oruru, expressed sadness over his daughter’s continued stay at the mess with her newborn.

Oruru said Ese was supposed to be in school, stressing that all her mates were now ahead of her.

Oruru said, “My daughter has been yearning and even crying to go back to school as her classmates are now ahead of her. She (Ese) has lost a whole year to this saga and she is still in the police protective custody while the accused is enjoying freedom on bail

“I am begging the Delta State Government, the Federal Government and the world at large to come to our aid.

“Nowadays, without education, one is going nowhere, so she is not doing anything in their custody. While the accused move freely, she is suffering there.

“I call on the Delta government to assist us because I have five children, of which Ese is the second to the last child, so my state should come to my family’s aid.”

The continued hearing of the Ese Oruru case has been adjourned until December 8, 2016, due to the absence of the presiding judge, Justice H.A. Nganjiwa, in court on Monday.

No official reason was offered for the judge’s absence.

Ese Oruru, the 14-year-old minor, was allegedly abducted in Bayelsa in August 2015 and taken to Kano where she was converted to Islam and married to one Yunusa Dahiru.

Yunusa Dahiru, who allegedly abducted Ese, was arraigned on March 8, 2016 before the Federal High Court, Yenagoa, on charges of criminal abduction, illicit sex, sexual exploitation and unlawful carnal knowledge of the minor.

Counsel for the accused, Mr. Kayode Olaosebikan, who was in court with Yunusa, who has been granted bail, said no reason was given for the court’s failure to sit.

He said the case had been adjourned until December 8 for further hearing of the matter.

One of the prosecution lawyers, Mr. Deme Pamosoo, said the case was still on course, even though no reason had been communicated as to why the court didn’t sit.

Ese, who was already pregnant by the time she was rescued, gave birth to a baby girl on May 25, 2016, while in protective care at the Police Officers’ Mess in Yenagoa and had remained there since.

While the hearing was expected to progress on the said Monday, it was a different story for Ese and her family as her parents have lamented her continued stay in police protective custody.

The parents of Ese Oruru, the 14-year-old girl who was abducted and impregnated by one Yunusa Dahiru, who took her to Kano, have alleged that there were plans to steal their granddaughter, by some young men.

The development came barely six months after Ese was rescued and reunited with her loved ones.

Her parents raised the alarm in an interview with Sunday PUNCH on Saturday that there have been persistent threats by some people to take away their teenage daughter’s three-month-old baby girl.

They explained that their fear was based on recent events, one of which included an assault to one of Ese’s siblings.

Ese mother, Rose, said, “Towards the end of July, a man traced us from the court to the Police Officers’ Mess in Yenagoa (Bayelsa State capital). We later overheard him talking in Hausa language to someone on the telephone that he had located the place where Ese and her baby were staying.

“He said that they don’t want the baby to grow up with ‘these people,’ meaning us. My daughter ran to us when she heard that. I later sent my son to buy sachet water and he told us when he returned that he also saw the same man standing outside.

“I later saw this same man walking back and forth outside the officers’ mess, and he was still talking on the phone. His movements were suspicious. Since then, we have been living in fear.”

Ese’s mother added that the same man was with Ese’s alleged abductor, in the court premises during one of the proceedings, wearing a red cap.

She also said one of her children was assaulted recently while on a commercial motorcycle by some unknown persons.

She said, “The men sounded like they were Hausas; they asked her if she was going to the house the ‘government had paid for them.’ I didn’t know how they knew that. Before my daughter could rush into a tricycle, these men forcefully took away some of her belongings and the food she was bringing for Ese and the baby.”

The Orurus said they reported the separate incidents to the Bayelsa State Police Commissioner, who then ordered that the security around the Officer’s Mess be beefed up.

The number of police officers guarding the premises has since reduced, the family said. “This is why I am even more afraid now.” the mother told our correspondent.

“With this incident, I am afraid anything can happen, and I don’t want any of my daughters to be kidnapped again,” Ese’s father, Charles, said.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Bayelsa State Command, Asinim Butswat, in a text message sent to our correspondent, said the state police command “had not received any report of threat to the family.”

The Executive Director, Kindling Hope Across Nations Initiative, Mr. Kizito Andah, said the police should act on the allegation.

KHAN Initiative had taken on Ese Oruru’s case and advocated for her release after they had been informed by a neighbour.

Following a SUNDAY PUNCH campaign on February 28 against her abduction, Ese, whose name had been changed to Aisha Chuwas, was eventually rescued by the police.

The teenager was on Tuesday, March 1, reunited with her mother in Abuja, and then with her family members in Yenagoa, Bayelsa, on Wednesday, March 2.

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